Kyiv: Ukraine destroyed two bridges inside Russian territory with the use of cheap drones to precisely target stockpiles of mines and ammunition hidden there by Russian forces, CNN reported.
According to the Ukrainian military, the two bridges--located close to the border with Ukraine's Kharkiv region--were being used by Russia to resupply its troops.
The bridges were mined by the Russian forces because of their strategic importance, allowing them the option of blowing them up in the event of a sudden Ukrainian advance.
It is a common wartime tactic for militaries under pressure to demolish their own infrastructure--bridges, highways, and other key routes--to block enemy movement. Ukraine itself carried out such measures in the opening days of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, when it destroyed bridges on the approaches to Kyiv, slowing the Russian advance and defending the capital.
In this case, Ukrainian forces discovered the Russian stashes of mines and turned that knowledge to their advantage, CNN reported.
The operation was conducted by Ukraine's 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, which told CNN that its soldiers became suspicious after noticing unusual activity around one of the bridges.
"It became clear that something was going on there. We couldn't fly a regular reconnaissance drone under the bridge because the signal would simply disappear, so we flew in with a first-person-view drone equipped with fiber optics," a brigade representative told CNN.
Drone footage shows the device approaching the bridge, revealing a large pile of anti-tank mines and other munitions. A piece of fabric that appears to have been covering the stash is seen tossed to the side.
"We saw the mines, and we struck," the brigade member said.
The recording cuts off as the drone crashes into the explosives, triggering a massive blast. Separate footage, filmed from a distance, captures the explosion. CNN confirmed the location of the bridge as being in Russia's Belgorod region, near the Ukrainian border.
"After that, we decided to check the other bridge. We found it was also mined and we struck," the brigade representative explained, adding: "(We) saw an opportunity and took it."
The demolition of the two bridges--and the unconventional method used--marks a rare success story for Kyiv.
Ukraine is currently grappling with mounting pressure along the frontlines, where Russian forces are slowly pushing forward while President Vladimir Putin continues to stall any ceasefire negotiations.
Meanwhile, Moscow maintains its offensive on Ukrainian cities, carrying out near-daily airstrikes that have killed civilians and devastated infrastructure across the country.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
